AHRQ Issues New Report on Behavioral Programs for Diabetes

A new report from AHRQ examined how effective behavioral programs can be in helping type 1 and type 2 diabetes patients control glucose levels. For those with type 1 diabetes, behavioral programs improve glycemic control when follow-up with patients from health care providers lasts up to six months. Type 2 diabetes patients received limited benefit in controlling glucose levels from diabetes self-management education programs that provided 10 hours or less of interaction with a health care provider. Both diabetes self-management education and lifestyle programs – such as structured weight loss and physical activity interventions – can have benefits in terms of glycemic control. However, lifestyle programs appear better for reducing body mass index than programs that focus only on diabetes self-management. Select to access the full report. The studies on behavioral interventions for type 1 and type 2 diabetes were published online in the September 29 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.